Saturday Business Brief

July 5, 2014, 2:51 PM

NEW YORK (AP) - The earnings season is getting started and investors are hoping solid second quarter corporate results will add to the recent spate of positive news about the economy and propel the stock market higher. On Thursday, the Dow industrials topped 17,000 for the first time, closing at 17,068. The S&P 500 ended at 1,985, 15 points from its round-number milestone of 2,000.

Oil traders are expecting crude supplies to increase. That sent the price of oil down for a seventh straight day on Friday despite strong U.S. employment growth. The benchmark U.S. crude contract for August delivery slipped below $104 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, was also down in London.

Blue Bird is recalling more than 2,500 All American school buses and some transit buses to fix a problem that could make steering more difficult. The Georgia-based company also is recalling a smaller number of school buses that may be prone to a propane fuel leak. It says it has received no injury or accident reports tied to any of these recalls.

Charlie Crist is testing whether the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba remains a live wire issue for Florida politicians. As Crist campaigns for Florida governor, the Democrat is calling for an end to the embargo. For decades, Florida politicians have been careful about what they say about the issue out of fear of alienating Florida's powerful Cuban-American voters, many of whom fled Fidel Castro's Cuba. But some Democrats see an opening with newer Cuban arrivals and second-generation Cuban-Americans who favor resuming diplomatic relations.

Anthony Cumia of the "Opie & Anthony" radio show is out of a job. He's been fired by SiriusXM, which cited his "racially charged" and "hate-filled" remarks on Twitter as the reason. A SiriusXM spokesman says Cumia's remarks and postings, including tweets and retweets that were degrading to women, were "abhorrent" to the satellite radio company.